A lady once confessed to the writer that she had all unwittingly followed in the wake of a smoker whose cigar shed on the air a fragrance so delicate that for a time it was quite irresistible. Doubtless many another could, if so minded tell of a similar experience. A good cigar indeed—Havana or Cuban leaf for preference—is an inspiration. A meerschaum pipe when ‘mellow, rich and ripe’ is a treasure; but cigarettes are becoming, if they have not already become, a nuisance. Grateful memories of the weed are enshrined in the literature of every language; and many an old and odd volume have yielded to the gleaner the materials of which the following pages are made up. Some parts have already seen the light in the form of magazine articles, and for permission to republish these the writer tenders his thanks to Sir James Knowles, of the Nineteenth Century Review, to the Editor of Macmillan’s Magazine, and to Sylvanus Urban of the Gentleman’s Magazine. And this may be the fitting place to acknowledge the courtesy and kindness of the principal (Mr. A. C. Wood) of the Statistical Office of H.M. Customs, who has furnished the tabular statement, which appears below, shewing the latest facts and figures on importations of tobacco, on the rate of consumption per head of population in the United Kingdom, and the revenue derived therefrom. STATISTICAL OFFICE, H.M. CUSTOMS. Since the date of your article there have been some considerable changes in the fiscal position of Tobacco and the following are the chief changes in rates of duty per lb. since 1898:— Unmanufactured Cigars. Foreign Other Tobacco. Cavendish. Sorts. S D S D S D S D 1898 2 8 5 0 3 10 3 5 1900 3 0 5 6 4 4 3 10 { 3 3 } { 4 10 Cigarettes. { } Strips 6 0 4 4 { 1904 { 3 1½ } { 3 10 Other Sorts. { { 3 0 Whole Leaf. The maximum limit of moisture allowed in manufacture of Tobacco was fixed in 1887 at 35 per cent., and was changed in 1898 to 30 per cent., and again raised in 1904 to 32 per cent. The moisture naturally present in the kinds of Tobacco now imported averages about 14 per cent. I mention these facts because they are as you know of considerable importance in making calculations of the quantities sold over the counters of retailers to consumers.